Despite a shortened week and a cancellation there are still plenty of reasons to stop by the MHS this week and indulge in some public programming!

On Wednesday, 23 April, beginning at noon is a Brown Bag lunch talk given by Marie Stango of the University of Michigan. "'Pious Females' and 'Good Schools': Transnational Networks of Education in Nineteenth-Century Liberia" examines the networks of men and women who helped support education efforts in the American settlements in Liberia, West Africa. These philanthropists, many of them based in Massachusetts, helped establish formal and informal schools in the former American colonies and planned for a college, which opened for classes as Liberia College (now the University of Liberia) in 1863. How did these American sponsors manage an institution over four thousand miles away? This talk is free and open to the public so pack a lunch and come on by!

And on Wednesday evening is a special public program beginning at 6:00PM in which Mitchell L. Adams will speak about his great-grandfather, "Dr. Zabdiel Boylston Adams: Surgeon & Soldier for the Union." The Civil War was a watershed and a defining period in the life of Zabdiel Boylston Adams, an 1853 graduate of the Harvard Medical School. On 2 July 1863 the doctor set up a makeshift hospital close to the field of battle. Having noticed how many soldiers were dying during transport from combat to distant medical care, Adams pioneered on-site medical treatments. He labored so long in surgeries at Gettysburg that he was nearly blinded with exhaustion. At the Battle of the Wilderness Adams was severely wounded. Captured by Confederate forces, his shattered left leg useless and gangrenous, he treated himself by pouring pure nitric acid into his wounds, a treatment that must have been as excruciating as it was efficacious. Dr. Adams was a man at the nexus of two distinguished New England families at a particularly dramatic moment in history. Registration is required for this program at no cost. To Reserve: Click here to register online, or call the MHS reservations line at 617-646-0560. Pre-Talk reception begins at 5:30PM.

And on Saturday, 26 April, come by at 10:00AM for The History and Collections of the MHS, a 90-minute docent-led tour of the Society's home at 1154 Boylston Street. This free tour explores the public spaces of the building and touches on the art, architecture, history, and collections of the MHS. The tour is free and open to the public. No reservation is required for individuals or small groups. Parties of 8 or more should contact the MHS prior to attending a tour. For more information please contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org.